Sainsbury’s new 2020 plan ticks many boxes, but leaves some critical boxes un-ticked
London 11/01/2012
Towards the end of last year, after many discussions and a lot of planning, Sainsbury’s announced their very own 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan. Many see the plan as a welcomed step in the right direction - in some cases revolutionary; however, the plan has received criticisms that it avoids tackling some of the company's biggest challenges.
The analysis published in the December/January joint issue of the Ethical Corporation magazine, highlights that although Sainsbury’s plan creates a brighter future for 2020, the ‘consume more’ based business model will still remain at the heart of what Sainsbury’s does.
However, the 2020 sustainability plan will firmly cement sustainability within the core of the business. Speaking in the article Jack Cunningham, climate change and environment manager at Sainsbury’s highlights that the supermarket intends to invest up to £1bn between now and 2020 to achieve the plan’s targets.
Some of the targets that Sainsbury’s has set go beyond the current ‘norms’. In the article Dax Lovegroove, head of business and industry at WWF states Sainsbury’s water targets go beyond the language of water efficiency to that of collaborative “stewardship”, which Lovegroove describes as being progressive.
Cutting their own absolute emissions by 30% is a challenge, cutting its own-brand suppliers emissions by 50% is a complete ‘gear-shift in the debate’.
However, the article highlights where the plan falls short. Dan Crossley, principal sustainability adviser at Forum for the Future, would have like to have seen “bigger headline targets”.
Crossley goes on to argue that “we need to move away from growth being a fundamental obsession and we need to reduce our absolute impacts.”
Does Sainsbury’s 20 by 20 Plan do that? Only partly.
Developing an alternative business model is a big task for a food retailer. But, by not tackling this big challenge, Sainsbury’s underlying ethos and business model remains the same - based on persuading consumers to consume more.
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